Used-home sales decline in June

Sales of existing homes slipped in June, a real estate group said Wednesday, but the housing sector continued to turn in a strong performance despite a slumping economy.

The National Association of Realtors said sales of previously owned homes fell 0.6 percent in June to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.33 million units from a revised rate of 5.36 million units in May.

Still, the rate was 2.9 percent above June of last year and beat analysts' expectations of a 5.30 million-unit sales pace.

"This is the housing boom that just won't go away," said economist Ken Mayland of ClearView Economics. "Housing is providing a firm foundation for sustaining the surprisingly robust trend of consumer buying, and the tax rebate checks, some of which are now in taxypayers' hands, are the icing on the cake."

Economists said consumer spending, which accounts for two-thirds of all economic activity, and the housing market have held up well during the yearlong economic slowdown and have been forces that are preventing the economy from tipping into recession.

"No matter what is happening around them, households remain so confident that they are still buying homes at a near-record pace," said Joel Naroff, president of Naroff Economic Advisors.

The median sales price for existing single-family homes reached a record $152,600 in June, up from a revised $145,000 in May.

The June figures represent the fifth-highest existing-home sales pace on record.

The June rate of existing-home sales dropped 4.2 percent in the Midwest, 2.3 percent in the South and 1.6 percent in the Northeast, the association said. The rate rose 6.6 percent in the West.